Generation Z will drive Internet of Things, collaboration and wearables adoption

Technology progresses at a heady rate, making it difficult to think of a time without smartphones, let alone the days before widespread email and social media use.

Yet when I hear major technology brands tout connected schools where every student has a tablet, highlight the need for social network collaboration in business, or launch yet another web-connected kitchen appliance, I tut and carefully adjust my cynicism hat.

I question why school children need tablets when my education was perfectly adequate with pen, paper and a scientific calculator.

I wonder why anyone would invest in enterprise collaboration tools when most companies have enough meetings to start a political thinktank.

I struggle to understand how an app-connected fridge would really change my eating habits.

But then I have to remember that I have not grown up with the same level of technology enjoyed by the younger generation: Generation Z.

UK children born in the late 2000s will have grown up in a nation where internet connectivity and social networks are part of everyday life. Children now have iPads to play with in place of the Lego sets I spent hours sifting through.

This introduction to the latest technology at an early age will make technology trends like the Internet of Things real and valuable prospects rather than marketing gimmicks.

Growing up with iPhones and Wi-Fi hotspots, Generation Z will expect devices to have some form of connectivity, they will want to be able to control their household appliances with apps, and expect the hardware they use at work to be at least as good as the gadgets they have at home.

This is already happening in the Cabinet Office where civil servants have been given the choice of consumer-grade Apple, Lenovo or Dell laptops.

It is also the reason why Samsung and BT are presenting the concept of connected schools and classrooms as the future of education.

With Generation Z being born into a world where they can join huge and diverse social networks as soon as they learn how to type and swipe, the use of enterprise-grade social networks will be seen as essential.

In turn, this will mean the social collaboration tools being showcased by IT giants such as IBM will be enthusiastically adopted, eventually being as widespread in business as email and Microsoft Office.

I predict that the cynicism of my generation towards some of the latest technology trends will be not be shared by our successors.

Their tech-savvy upbringing will help seemingly gimmicky technology evolve from foreign concepts into valued and essential products.

And I believe technology companies are developing their products and services to target Generation Z, with the current generation acting as a slightly recalcitrant testbed for the latest technology concepts.

Internet of Things devices and collaboration tools are in their infancy, with some finding success and others remaining stuck in R&D purgatory. But, when Generation Z takes over they will inherit technology rigorously honed through human testing.

That cycle will no doubt continue. Following generations can look forward to being chauffeured around in driverless cars, learning in paperless schools, and accessing collaboration tools via wearable devices.

Even the evergreen worry over getting milk will be removed, thanks to a connected fridge in every home. That's one development I would definitely welcome.

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• Topics
• Gadgets
• Social Networking
• IBM
• Internet of Things
• Education